Sturgeon risks business EXODUS with push for Scottish independence

Babcock – one of Britain’s biggest engineering firms – could relocate its shipyard at Rosyth to England within a few years if it is not welcome in an independent Scotland, its chief executive said today. 

David Lockwood said the timescales around any future independence negotiations mean such a move would be ‘manageable’, though not ideal.

He spoke after the Prime Minister visited the Fife shipyard on Monday and saw work being carried out to build the first new Type 31 frigate for the Royal Navy. The same site assembled the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers.

Unionists said his comments showed that major employers would desert the country if Nicola Sturgeon achieves her plan of winning a referendum next year. 

David Lockwood – seen taking the PM on a tour of Rosyth Shipyard on Monday – warned independence could put the site at risk 

Figures within the independence movement, including the SNP’s coalition partners, the Scottish Greens, have been outspoken in their opposition to defence firms, calling them ‘arms dealers who profit from delivering death, destruction and misery’.

Ms Sturgeon has also vowed to rid Scotland of Britain’s nuclear submarine fleet, which Babcock – a FTSE 250-listed company that turns of £4billion a year – is involved in maintaining.

However, SNP MP Stewart McDonald responded to Mr Lockwood’s concerns by saying the Rosyth yard would ‘always’ be welcome in an independent Scotland.

Asked about the prospect of a second independence referendum, the Babcock boss told The Courier: ‘I lived in Scotland for 10 years and it was a rumbling thing then and I think it’s just going to be a rumbling thing.

The site assembled the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers (including HMS Queen Elizabeth, seen in Portsmouth) 

‘I think in reality there will be plenty of warning if the vote were in favour of independence.

‘There would then be a negotiation period and at the end of the negotiation period there would be an implementation period.

‘I don’t think there is anything that we can’t manage as a company. When you look at the timelines, there’s nothing we can’t manage as a company.

Unionists said his comments showed that major employers would desert the country if Nicola Sturgeon achieves her plan of winning a referendum next year

‘If we had to replicate this in England because we were told we weren’t welcome here – which I think would be a bad mistake for Scotland – but if that were the decision, we can replicate this in three years, and the time window of negotiations is longer than that.

‘It’s not ideal but it is manageable.’ 

Pamela Nash, chief executive of Scotland in Union, said: ‘If Scotland chose to leave the UK we would be choosing to no longer be eligible for contracts where national security is a factor, such as warships.

‘Therefore it would be inevitable that large shipbuilding companies would have to relocate.

‘It should be remembered that the SNP wanted Scotland to leave the UK a mere 18 months after the referendum vote. Thankfully we voted to remain in the UK.’

Mr McDonald, the SNP’s defence spokesman, responded by saying: ‘Scotland’s defence sector provides thousands of high-quality apprenticeships and full-time skilled jobs to people across the country – a contribution that has always been, and always will be, welcomed in Scotland.

‘An independent Scotland will be a key player in protecting our North Atlantic neighbourhood, and a thriving domestic defence sector – sourcing talent from the country’s highly-skilled workforce – will play a vital role in supporting that position.

‘Babcock operates and is welcomed in many countries across the world – an independent Scotland will be no different.’